The Arkansaw traveler., 1887-06-18


 "Can l stay all night?"
 What could we do? I saw that mother was restless and uneasy and I was afraid to risk him. I was only fifteen and looked youger than my years. But what caused my uneasi- ness was the fact that father had just returned that morning from L. with large sum of money and had left it with us. I was sure the ser wants knew it. I saw one of them lettering near the door as father gave the package to mother. Innocently or not, he might have imparted his knowledge to others. Something seemed to tell me this man was bent on doing mischief He was silent and moody; told nothing of himself and seemed unwilling to talk. caught him several times surveying the room with his keen, restless eyes. But we could not turn him out on such a night as this. We were living in the country and the nearest house was mile away, so we were compelled by all the laws of humanity to consent to his remaining. He soon expressed wish to go to bed, and we put him down stairs in room across the hall from mothers.
 soon went upstairs to my room, and being alone, my mind again caught the dread suspicion. Try as might to resist, that mans face would come before me, with its dark looks and cruel eyes. was uneasy and could not sleep. dropped down on the bed without undressing, first get ting me large club and placing it at the foot of the bed. Everything was quiet for hours, it seemed to me.
 At length thought heard light footsteps below. went to the head of the stars and listened, but could hear nothing. All was quiet
 went back to bed, and from ex- haustion I at last sunk into troubled sleep.
 was aroused in about an hour by noise down stairs This time there could be no mistake. Wide awake and in an agony of dread I heard the sound of blows as if some one were beating something with chair or stick.
 This seemed more horrible because there was no outcry, no wild call for help, no sound of a human voice, but in the dead silence of a country home at midnight, only the dull sound of blows. And in my mothers room 1! Just under my own.
 The sound came through the ceiling like living creature, and became to my frightened senses instinct with more than human voice.
 Fear annihilated substance, and, as if there were no floor between me, l saw the dreadful tragedy with spirit ualized eyes. It takes me long to tell of this awful moment, but only an in- stant's time was consumed in thinking, suffering and acting. Grabbing my club, rushed down and reached the floor just in time to see the strange man running out of mothers room covered with blood and terribly ex- cited. Involuntarlly 1 rushed upon him and with a fictitious strength born of my great excitement struck him with my club and stunned him. Fear gave activity to my mind, and I made haste to secure him, and as he staggered to his room locked him i'm This done, rushed out doors and rang the farm bell as vigorously as possible. O! what startling thing it is to hear in the night when all is quiet the coarse tones of farm bell. What an alarm it carries. AS peal after peal rang out from my frantic pulls, began to lose my fictitious strength and gave way to sobs.
 "What use in help now,"I thought, "when mother is dead"
 After what seemed an interminable time, but what was in reality only a few moments, heard the hands com ing hastily up. They caught my fright like contagion, and it did not need my wild cry of "Mother is mur- deredr' to send them in a frantic crowd to her room.
 The moment we entered what a sight met our eyes. Lying on the floor, covered with blood, with a crushed and bleeding head, was a large dog-a very large and savage looking one-but withal only dog.
 What had done? had murdered the man who had rescued my mother and brothers from the ravages of a mad dog. had killed our preserver. It will be noticed that my idea of my Sampson-l like strength was somewhat out of proportion to my size. With knees trembling, I tottered to his door, unlocked it and looked in. He was gone. No trace of him could be found. We searched the room, the house, the farm, but all in vain. When and how he had left and where he had gone was even more of a mys- tery than his coming had been.
 After long and fruitless search we